Blum, who missed the entire first half following knee surgery and has played just seven games all season, suffered a fractured right pinkie finger yesterday and is expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks.

He initially tried to remain in the game after the injury, which came while fielding a ground ball, but couldn’t grip the bat and had “shooting pain” when he tried to throw an inning later.

Arizona’s decision to hand Blum a two-year, $2.7 million contract in November looked odd because he’s a 38-year-old career-long role player with a sub-.700 OPS, but now because of the injuries they haven’t even gotten the mediocre utility man they overpaid for.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports Thursday that the Orioles “are said to have begun fielding calls of interest” on superstar Manny Machado and “are close to the point of seriously weighing whether to trade him.”

You’d think it would be a no-brainer for the last-place O’s to flip Machado — an impending free agent — for prospects, but Heyman notes there is “still a question whether or not longtime Orioles owner Peter Angelos” will give the go-ahead. One person familiar with the situation put it a “50-50” likelihood. Another suggested that it would take a massive return, which, sure.

Machado entered play Thursday with a sensational .328/.405/.635 batting line, 15 home runs, and an MLB-leading 43 RBI in 49 games. It’d be a real shock if he’s still wearing an O’s uniform by the end of July.

Heyman reported previously that at least nine teams made aggressive plays for Machado this winter, including the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Indians, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, and Cardinals. A whole lot of those teams still make sense here in late May — maybe all of them except the White Sox.